The present invention relates, in general, to apparatus and methods for requesting the play of audio/video media from a local area playback device.
The jukebox industry has existed since 1887 when saloon owner Charlie Glass invented the “Nickel in the Slot,” giving birth to the amusements industry and spurring the development of the recording industry. This event can also be considered an early inception point of “micro-payment” business models in exchange for a unique service to consumers.
The jukebox industry is now entering its third boom both economically and technologically. The advent of enterprise network jukebox products has made system monitoring, content updates and service management more cost-effective relative to conventional jukebox operations. In addition, sensor and software-based user interface technology has enhanced artist, album and song search features for consumers, providing the ability to browse an unlimited number of content selections via a rich media digital touch-screen.
Digital jukeboxes have recently been developed in order to provide a greater selection of music content relative to conventional CD jukeboxes. The advent of networked digital jukebox systems has enabled options to incorporate hard-disk storage capacity in pay-for-play amusement devices, provide a more efficient means of updating music on a communications network of amusement devices and systematically reduce on-site technician visits. Network digital jukeboxes employ a client server software system that takes advantage of digital technology and the Internet to provide patrons with next generation features and to provide jukebox operators with the ability to centrally manage their jukeboxes via a web portal. The onsite store of media in each jukebox may be periodically revised with new digital media transmitted by the jukebox network server. As a result, network operators can remotely update content, retrieve usage and revenue information, change pricing or play configurations, and check jukebox health statistics.
Similarly, this technology provides patrons with access to content and songs either stored on a local hard-disk or available for download from centralized and/or remote library mechanisms in order to playback the output on the local jukebox.
Nevertheless, several features have carried forward from the earliest machines. One of these features includes the requirement to browse through a selection of songs and select one for play by physically affecting a catalog mechanism located exactly on, and/or inside the jukebox amusement device. A central feature of modern jukeboxes involves sensor and software-based user interface technology located exactly on, and/or inside the jukebox amusement device. This technology has enhanced artist, album and song selection features for consumers, providing the ability to browse a virtually unlimited number of catalog selections via a digital touch-screen. A monetary acceptance device for currency, credit card, or pre-paid billing card, etc., is employed to validate any jukebox request made from a modern touch-screen machine. The request is acted on by the jukebox if the selected media is stored in the jukebox. If not, the request is transmitted from the jukebox to the jukebox network server wherein the music, video or other digital selection is transmitted back to the particular jukebox.
Despite such industry improvements, critical management and relevant usage problems associated with both conventional as well as digital systems have remained unresolved. Furthermore, networked touch-screen jukebox products featuring comprehensive selection and content capacity have spawned potentially adverse economy-of-scale effects for network operators.
Location-based Jukebox song selection is not yet as efficient, concurrently interactive, or personally compelling as it “should” be to address today's competitive realities. A critical usage problem related to conventional systems—and exponentially more vexing of networked digital jukebox products—is that these systems require users to browse, select and order music content in a linear fashion or “one person at a time,” thereby limiting the maximum volume of transactions and potentially increasing “dwell” time per user at each jukebox location. Current system designs remain constrained to physical kiosk products coupled to a linear selection and payment-acceptance (i.e. coin) mechanism at the point-of-purchase. The customer must first move within exact proximity of the kiosk, directly face the jukebox interface, input the desired content selection and directly affect payment into the unit to activate the order. In addition, usage data cannot be mined for demographic information and no direct communication channel currently exists for personalized service models or the cross-marketing of related digital products to consumers (i.e. “over-the-air” downloads, targeted promotions or ads).
In the case of networked digital systems, the above described inverse relationships are negatively exacerbated precisely because; i) current product designs have retained the requirement for exact user proximity to the amusement output device even though the user may not always place a song order when browsing current content catalogs, ii) current product designs have increased the search, selection features and catalog capacity available to users, iii) current product designs force “single-user” linear access to the available catalog even though time-to-order is an unpredictable variable across users, iv) current product designs do not harness efficient content ingestion, location updating and on-demand downloading architectures, v) current product designs require installation of multiple kiosk selection devices for multi-zoned entertainment venues, and vi) the selection and output methods are coupled to the enabling payment system(s). This system design paradox potentially creates adverse economic costs for digital network operators who purchase jukebox hardware, license content catalogs, develop distribution relationships, share substantial revenue streams with manufacturers and venue partners, manage coin-collection routes, maintain a large number of devices and manage commercial implementation of critical system and network elements. Furthermore, high costs associated with the production/assembly process of electronic jukebox amusement devices and the total cost of ownership for operators has sapped economies of scale, reduced mass adoption and contributed to the subsequent fragmentation of the industry.
Current industry solutions partially address the limiting usage and operational factors described above by creating enhanced or additional features. Such features include touch-screen browsing and search functionality, credit card payment or priority play mechanisms to entice customer orders and increase revenue opportunities. Although such features offer new options for consumers who can place their order ahead of previous content orders at a price premium, they do not resolve the loss of sales and diminishing returns from linear kiosk usage in general.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide an easier method for selection of content or media on a local area playback device. It would be desirable to provide a method and apparatus that will allow a plurality of users to access the playback selection and playback services concurrently.